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Salford to move to Moor Lane?


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Having been to the old Moor Lane when Swinton played there I can only comment what a total hole it was then and that the fun of 2000 Wire or Saints fans descending on the area for parking is worth a tv channel on its own. As commented on Salford decided not pay rent but players - and have got away with it

 

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Just to clarify - one thing that keeps being mentioned is that there are no toilet facilities at Moor Lane.

There were portaloos when I went so a) it’s not like everyone was s***ing in the woods and b) that’s 100% better than p***ing against a wall like the good old day of the Willows 😉

Not really an issue and you either hire them in or there’s room to build small blocks.

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16 hours ago, sweaty craiq said:

Having been to the old Moor Lane when Swinton played there I can only comment what a total hole it was then and that the fun of 2000 Wire or Saints fans descending on the area for parking is worth a tv channel on its own. As commented on Salford decided not pay rent but players - and have got away with it

 

When Swinton played at Moor Lane, the ground was indeed a toilet (as it was when pre-Man U Old Boys Salford City struggled to attract 50 spectators to games there). No denying, however, it's much smarter now, even if a lot of the revamp is superficial. Last time I visited, a couple of years ago, to the obvious consternation of residents, Salford City and Hartlepool United fans took part in a post-match punch-up that rolled along Moor Lane. Took me right back to watching football in the 70s and 80s.

Edited by Hopping Mad
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19 hours ago, sweaty craiq said:

Having been to the old Moor Lane when Swinton played there I can only comment what a total hole it was then and that the fun of 2000 Wire or Saints fans descending on the area for parking is worth a tv channel on its own. As commented on Salford decided not pay rent but players - and have got away with it

 

Yes. I visited Langtree Park at around the same time you went to Moor Lane, and I can only comment what a total hole it was; it looked like little more than a derelict glass works. I can only hope that both stadiums have improved in the intervening 18 years.

If Saints and Warrington did take 2000 fans to Moor Lane, it certainly would be worth seeing, because that would mean they'd each be taking more than twice as many fans as they usually take to Salford.

And Salford didn't just 'decide' not to pay rent on the stadium - this isn't like playing Rugby League Manager on your Xbox, where you get to just 'decide' things - they negotiated a favourable deal with the stadium management company.

Apart from that, all good points.

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35 minutes ago, Hammerless Nail said:

Yes. I visited Langtree Park at around the same time you went to Moor Lane, and I can only comment what a total hole it was; it looked like little more than a derelict glass works. I can only hope that both stadiums have improved in the intervening 18 years.

If Saints and Warrington did take 2000 fans to Moor Lane, it certainly would be worth seeing, because that would mean they'd each be taking more than twice as many fans as they usually take to Salford.

And Salford didn't just 'decide' not to pay rent on the stadium - this isn't like playing Rugby League Manager on your Xbox, where you get to just 'decide' things - they negotiated a favourable deal with the stadium management company.

Apart from that, all good points.

Thank you for the correction, so that I am up to speed

What was the deal? and what was it previously? Someone told me the council agreed rent free unless over 8000?

What was not repaid when the CVA was broke?

Edited by sweaty craiq
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I don't buy the idea that bigger stadia automatically makes SL a better product. 

As a TV viewer, I'm much more likely to become interested in a game when there is a ground that is largely full, is generating a good atmosphere and *looks* up to date.

TW Stadium, Halliwell Jones and Headingley might not be as big as the DW/John Smiths/ KCOM but they make for a much better TV product.

Whilst Moor Lane obviously has its challenges, seeing it 80%+ full under the lights with a proper atmosphere will make it a much more attractive proposition than a third full, soulless AJ Bell. 

Edited by Ray Cashmere
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10 hours ago, ShropshireBull said:

I think it is a better move.  You can attract fans when you can generate an atmosphere.  Plonk a 3g pitch down so that it can be a place that schools and community clubs can be brought into. Be positive about the move and get the place rocking. 

And Shropshire, I know you have spoke about Big City clubs and in particular Manchester as a place for RL and the SL.

Well Moor Lane is roughly about the same distance between the centre of Manchester as is the Bernabeu is to the middle of Madrid. About 4.5 k or just short of three miles.

As in Aston Villa, Everton, Partick, Anderlecht, Sampdoria et al, SRD could be seen as both the sporting pinnacle of the city of Salford and the wider "Manchester" area.

 

 

Edited by idrewthehaggis
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On 25/09/2021 at 14:46, The Daddy said:

 

I think if they were to try and increase capacity to say 7000 then it would be difficult as the local residents would kick up a fuss. And from what I read it was not easy for Salford City FC to do what they have done.

One concession SCFC made was no building work on a Saturday as it is in a mainly Jewish area.

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20 hours ago, sweaty craiq said:

Thank you for the correction, so that I am up to speed

What was the deal? and what was it previously? Someone told me the council agreed rent free unless over 8000?

What was not repaid when the CVA was broke?

The Original agreement was a rental amount that was based on the club achieving 8,500 average fans, clearly salford do not and have not had this. As this wasn't achievable salford negotiated with the SMC a reduced rent that they have been paying. 

The CVA was debts from the John Wilkinson era, Koukash entered into eh CVA to consolidate the debts, nobody knows exactly who the debtors were or how much was due to each one. This is contrary to what many on this forum believe. Nothing was therefore not repaid when the CVA collapsed.

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1 hour ago, To Be Confirmed said:

The Original agreement was a rental amount that was based on the club achieving 8,500 average fans, clearly salford do not and have not had this. As this wasn't achievable salford negotiated with the SMC a reduced rent that they have been paying. 

The CVA was debts from the John Wilkinson era, Koukash entered into eh CVA to consolidate the debts, nobody knows exactly who the debtors were or how much was due to each one. This is contrary to what many on this forum believe. Nothing was therefore not repaid when the CVA collapsed.

Thank you

Did Salford owe the council £1.3m in un paid rent, and is the rent £0 at present

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14 hours ago, Robthegasman said:

I think if they were to try and increase capacity to say 7000 then it would be difficult as the local residents would kick up a fuss. And from what I read it was not easy for Salford City FC to do what they have done.

One concession SCFC made was no building work on a Saturday as it is in a mainly Jewish area.

  When i started working in Betting Shops we had quite a few Jewish managers.Busiest day of the week Saturday we were working our cobblers off and they had the day off.So i can understand the no Saturday work.

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2 hours ago, To Be Confirmed said:

The Original agreement was a rental amount that was based on the club achieving 8,500 average fans, clearly salford do not and have not had this. As this wasn't achievable salford negotiated with the SMC a reduced rent that they have been paying. 

The CVA was debts from the John Wilkinson era, Koukash entered into eh CVA to consolidate the debts, nobody knows exactly who the debtors were or how much was due to each one. This is contrary to what many on this forum believe. Nothing was therefore not repaid when the CVA collapsed.

This is correct kids.

It is also worth noting that the assets of the club - principally the Willows ground - were not sold to either pay those debts off or pay for the AJ Bell stade if you believe the local media in Salford. 

Somewhere a student should do a thesis on this. How not to build a stadium. 

In future, chose site near centre of town and/or near public transport, generate funds by selling ground, loans, grants, buy and design  ground after consulting supporters, residents and public and build. 

I hope people have learnt these lessons when it comes to the next move.

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1 hour ago, sweaty craiq said:

Thank you

Did Salford owe the council £1.3m in un paid rent, and is the rent £0 at present

I've never heard that debt figure - or the reasons behind it - from anyone I would consider to be a reliable source, only from herberts on t'interweb. So, while it may be true, I wouldn't bank on it.

I think there was a time when a previous owner said he'd secured a deal where the club wouldn't be paying rent for a certain period, but he's not someone I would consider a reliable source.

I have been told how much the club is currently paying by someone who is in a position to know, and it isn't zero.

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2 hours ago, idrewthehaggis said:

This is correct kids.

It is also worth noting that the assets of the club - principally the Willows ground - were not sold to either pay those debts off or pay for the AJ Bell stade if you believe the local media in Salford. 

Somewhere a student should do a thesis on this. How not to build a stadium. 

In future, chose site near centre of town and/or near public transport, generate funds by selling ground, loans, grants, buy and design  ground after consulting supporters, residents and public and build. 

I hope people have learnt these lessons when it comes to the next move.

I was under the impression that The Willows was sold off to a housing development ran by one of the club directors.

https://watson-homes.co.uk/portfolio/the-willows/

However,following the earlier Banking Crash that caused huge problems for a new stadium,there then followed a housing crash.

I haven't read this,but it may be slightly close to the truth - https://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=2068

     No reserves,but resilience,persistence and determination are omnipotent.                       

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On 26/09/2021 at 16:51, Josef K said:

Salford City AFC seem to be struggling with attendances so far this season, they’re averaging just over 2,000 although they haven’t had the best of starts. 

They don’t have any actual fans though, just Man Utd fans who want a game to watch when Utd are away. 

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The only problem I forsee here is the club may lose money when hosting a team with a large away following? Long term though if it's closer to their salford roots and capacity can be extended if attendences improve, then long term it  might be a good move for them. I've been to the AJ bell and the atmosphere is poor, maybe they'd create a better atmosphere in a smaller ground?  

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On 26/09/2021 at 16:51, Josef K said:

Salford City AFC seem to be struggling with attendances so far this season, they’re averaging just over 2,000 although they haven’t had the best of starts. 

This raises an interesting point. Salford City don't have too many fans (understandable given that they have the biggest football club in the country - one of the biggest in the world, even - right on their doorstep, and a second, mid-table, club even closer; just at the other end of Trafford Road, in fact).

Those fans they do have are going to encounter the same problems Red Devils fans have in getting to the AJ Bell: it's either a single road or the motorway, and these two routes also take thousands upon thousands of people to the Trafford Centre, where they can experience all the same shops they can experience on any modern high street, but in an environment that echoes like the local swimming baths (you can hear the child screaming, but you can't tell where it's coming from).

In fact, it's going to be worse for the football fans, as they'll likely be playing most of their matches on a Saturday afternoon - peak window licking time at the Trafford Centre - and will be playing during the four month run up to Christmas - peak peak window licking time at the Trafford Centre.

I hope Gary Neville and the other owners put more thought into this than the Red Devils' owners did.

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1 hour ago, Hammerless Nail said:

This raises an interesting point. Salford City don't have too many fans (understandable given that they have the biggest football club in the country - one of the biggest in the world, even - right on their doorstep, and a second, mid-table, club even closer; just at the other end of Trafford Road, in fact).

Those fans they do have are going to encounter the same problems Red Devils fans have in getting to the AJ Bell: it's either a single road or the motorway, and these two routes also take thousands upon thousands of people to the Trafford Centre, where they can experience all the same shops they can experience on any modern high street, but in an environment that echoes like the local swimming baths (you can hear the child screaming, but you can't tell where it's coming from).

In fact, it's going to be worse for the football fans, as they'll likely be playing most of their matches on a Saturday afternoon - peak window licking time at the Trafford Centre - and will be playing during the four month run up to Christmas - peak peak window licking time at the Trafford Centre.

I hope Gary Neville and the other owners put more thought into this than the Red Devils' owners did.

I hope they don’t, the sooner the Salford City vanity project comes to an end the better. 

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18 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I hope they don’t, the sooner the Salford City vanity project comes to an end the better. 

Yeah I’m sure the volunteers & fans who struggled for years to keep a Northern Premier league club playing in a dump going would rather a group of former premier league players had just sat on their money & left them alone.

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1 minute ago, Davo5 said:

Yeah I’m sure the volunteers & fans who struggled for years to keep a Northern Premier league club playing in a dump going would rather a group of former premier league players had just sat on their money & left them alone.

Maybe they do, those 50 people supported a woeful non league club for a reason.

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